November 6th, 1899
My Dearest Gil,
I sat down to write to you about the wonderful night we spent together (sort of) last week under the stars, but, having just received your latest lamenting, I feel I must address it first.
It would seem to me you are referring to that fateful night at the ruins, dear Gil, and while the memory of that night is blurry in spots, I shall never forget the horrible way in which I treated you. To know that those feelings were flowing through you just as strongly as they were for me both angers and amuses me. And, in true Anne and Gilbert fashion, we let our boneheadedness get in the way. I have wanted to ask you for awhile now just what exactly you were thinking and feeling that night, but I have a confession, Gil; I was much too embarrassed. As you probably gathered, I was rather intoxicated, no thanks to the generous helpings of Paul’s moonshine. For you to see me acting so juvenile, when we had just graduated and were about to start college, on top of the way I spoke to you, was too much for me to even think about, my dear.
I was blissfully unaware of exactly what was going through your mind and now that I am, I admit you have rendered me hopelessly lovesick, Gilbert Blythe. I can’t believe how utterly stupid I was that night (I mean really, “I’m pirate?”) and to know you saw me in that state, and still loved me in spite of it, makes me want to go to the train station this instant and take the first one going west. It seems absolutely impossible that your love for me stretches the incredible distance between us and it melts me to the very core. And yet, here I am, holding in my hands the words you so carefully wrote down, on the very same paper touched by yours. Somehow, despite the distance, I feel closer to you than I have ever before, my love.
This ‘charades’ you speak of thrills me to my fingertips just thinking about it! It sounds like a jolly good time. Imagine, Gilbert, the wild ideas our friends would come up with! I’ve never known Moody or Charlie to be very vivacious actors, but I think in the spirit of the game, they could be compelled. Especially Moody, if by happenstance he was paired with a certain blonde...and Bash! The man has such a clever way with words, it certainly would be interesting to see him try and act out a scene without being able to speak! The excitement this game seems to procure coupled with the thought of being in your arms once again has me wishing I could go to sleep tonight and have it be Christmas break in the morning. But, alas, there are still final exams to think about.
And now, I must describe to you our blissful evening of stargazing, from my perspective, dear one. I told no one of our secret rendezvous, save for Diana, should anything have happened to me. I also felt it pertinent to tell her as she has a terrible habit of waking up in the middle of the night, and I’m sure if I was missing from my bed she would be frantic with worry. The night in question was beautiful and crisp. The sky was clear, though there was a chill in the air. Winter is definitely on its way, there’s no doubt about that. I took my heaviest coat and two of my warmest quilts. I’m sure I looked most peculiar winding through the streets of Charlottetown on my way to the quad in the middle of the night. That is if anyone saw me, which I don’t think they did (at least not that I’m aware of). I found a beautiful spot in the middle of the quad and laid the thinner of the two quilts on the frosted ground to sit on, just as you suggested. I wrapped the other around me and looked up to the heavens to see a beautiful smattering of constellations. They reminded me of the speckles of gold you get in your eyes when the sun hits them just right, and I found myself smiling like a fool for the remainder of the time. I wondered if you were able to see the stars in all their beauty, or if the city lights obstructed them too much. Charlottetown is a vibrant, bustling city, that’s to be certain. But there’s a serene quietness about it at night. In a way it reminds me of our sleepy little Avonlea. Perhaps over Christmas we can take a midnight stroll under the cover of darkness and look at the stars together properly, Gil. I’ll even share my quilt, if for nothing else but to conserve body heat, of course…
Overall, the night was just as magical as I imagined, my love, with the exception of your physical presence missing. I would have given anything to be at your side, wrapped in your warm embrace, as we connected the endless dots between the stars. But to know you were looking at the exact same stars at the exact same time,and to know that we are both very much here, alive, under the same sky and call this earth home thrills me immensely. To know that out of all of the people on earth we have managed to find each other, and share our love together, makes me so incredibly happy.
And on that note, my dearest Gilbert, I will leave you by taking a line of your own doing; I love you, I love you, I love you.
Yours, now and forevermore,
Anne